In Cauda Venenum/ Opeth - progressive metal

By Narendra Kusnur 

Album: In Cauda Venenum
Artiste: Opeth
Genre: Progressive metal
Label: Moderbolaget Records
Rating: ****

It's been nearly four decades since Swedish progressive metal band Opeth has been on the scene, despite going through numerous line-up changes. The group also has a strong following in India, where it has played a couple of times and is now slotted for the forthcoming NH7 Weekender in Pune.

Opeth has recently put out its 13th album In Cauda Venenum (Latin for ‘Poison In The Tail’). Like in most of its previous efforts, the band blends 1970s progressive rock influences with heavy metal flavours, using long songs with dramatic tempo changes, ambient spells and acoustic guitar interludes.

There are 10 tracks here, running up a total of 67 minutes. The length may deter listeners from hearing it repeatedly in its totality, but Opeth weaves the songs smoothly. Even Tool’s latest album Fear Inoculum  ran 87 minutes, and this seems to be the fad these days.

In Cauda Venenum was originally written in Swedish, and the English version was put out later. It begins with ‘Garden Of Earthly Delights’, a mood-building piece with children's voices. ‘Heart In Hand’ has dark lines like “Death is but a story in a land of borrowed wealth, The burdened scale burns heavy with the hunt for dopamine”.

Vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt is at his expressive best on ‘Lovelorn Crime’, singing “You can always hunt me down, but I will always wait for you.” With Fredrick Akesson’s explosive guitar solo and its volley of high-pitched choruses, this is one of the album's clear highlights. With its anthemic Iron Maiden-influenced start, stunning bass line and rapid tempo changes, ‘Charlatan’ is as close to trademark Opeth as can be. ‘The Garroter’ has a tight jazz-rock-inspired rhythm section.

‘Continuum’ travels various sonic moods, beginning with acoustic guitar-backed vocals, melodic keyboards and a sizzling lead guitar solo, ending with the lines, “The river of time flows by, blind and ruthless”. The album concludes with ‘All Things Will Pass’, which, despite smooth words on reviving a relationship, is rather predictable as a composition.

In terms of instrumentation, the band is compact, with drummer Martin Axenrot, bassist Martin Mendez and keyboardist Joakim Svalberg contributing marvellously. For fans of progressive rock and metal, In Cauda Venenum  is definitely worth checking out.